1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the fields of Internet and telephonic communication and, more particularly, to a public telecommunications network-based method and apparatus for initiating and completing a telephone call, especially a voice telephony call, via the Internet. In this manner, a user may communicate with an agent by voice about information, products and services offered via the Internet without the voice telephony call's having to originate from customer premises equipment.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
The popularity of the international World Wide Web is increasing at an extraordinary rate. The World Wide Web, also referred to as the Internet, provides an alternative means of communication between users. The users may be private individuals or entities offering information, products and services. Presently, a user is typically equipped with a personal computer or intelligent telephone and a data modem and the user may be coupled directly to the Internet via a public telecommunications network, local area network (LAN) or otherwise. By, for example, dialing a predetermined telephone number access, a user presently connects to the Internet via a server which communicates with other servers by transmitting and receiving variable length packets of data in an established Internet Protocol (IP) format. The data modem typically has a bandwidth limited to voiceband frequencies at present but, with the advent of so-called cable modems for providing services via hybrid coaxial cable/optical fiber facilities, the access bandwidth will be considerably increased to many times voice bandwidth. Wider bandwidth facilities also may emerge for delivery of services via satellite or other radio frequency path. Between servers, the bandwidth is shared and may be at very wide bandwidth or narrow bandwidth, depending on the shared availability of facilities. Between servers, large data files of, for example, high resolution images may be passed at high rates of speed, while the user who is a private individual and is limited to voice telephony bandwidth presently must await a slower transmission from the server to the home. Moreover, if the user wishes to converse with a live individual, the user may not be able to do so. Consequently, the provision of products, services and information over the Internet can be slow and inefficient.
Users who desire access to on-line accessible catalogs, travel, data files and the like presently link via the Internet to host servers which provide so-called Web pages providing instructions on how to utilize various offered information, products and services. Once connected to such services, for example, it is possible to determine that a bargain air fare is available from one city to another at a certain time on a certain date. But rather than having to reenter alternative times and dates and the like looking for a response from the Internet connected air carrier, it may become useful and desirable for a user, often referred to as a web surfer, to speak to an agent of the air carrier. Presently, to do so, one may print out reference data on a web page from accessing the Internet site and make a separate telephone call to the air carrier. This activity is both inefficient and time-consuming.
It is desirable to initiate and complete a voice telephone call via the Internet, while data received via the Internet is displayed on a user's screen regarding the desired information, product or service, thus saving the user time and the inefficiency of having to disconnect from the Internet and reconnect via the public switched telecommunications network. The Internet product, service or information service provider may also gain from such availability by being able to efficiently and quickly serve a web surfer's needs. Thus, the service provider may generate increased revenue from the connection.
One solution to the problem of providing Internet or intranet and telecommunications voice telephony linkage between a customer and a merchant facility involves the use of a "call me" icon according to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/736,150, filed Oct. 24, 1996, of Foladare et al., entitled "System and Method for Establishing Internet Communications Links" (the '150 application). When a web surfer is surfing the World Wide Web, the web surfer may come across a Web Page with a "call me" icon suggesting that a live service representative of a merchant call the web surfer. Typically, the merchant's facility comprises a server linked to a private branch exchange (PBX) such that the server may signal the PBX to call the customer as soon as a service representative is free and thus establish a voice telephony link between a next available service representative and a customer. Such a signaling link between a server and a PBX and accompanying software changes, as necessary, must be established at each merchant customer premises facility. The PBX may not be able to accommodate the changes and so require reengineering. Such a customer premises based solution to the initiation of a voice telephony call may not afford advantages that another alternative solution, such as a public telecommunications network-based solution, may provide.